Needing Magic
by Skitzoeinhoven
Summary: Emma and Regina fight and Henry runs to Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop for help. Henry doubts his ability to mediate their fight and thinks learning magic is the cure.


_**To my fellow Rumbellers who are struggling. I dedicate this one-shot short story to you and I hope it uplifts or inspires you in some small way. Remember, you are beautiful. You are worthy and you are wonderful. Keep going. Keep on being you.**_

… …

The Pawnshop had a peaceful silence about it as Belle filed away certain documents that needed to be organized. She spotted a few books that were out of place and decided to take a break from the filing to put the books away when suddenly the front doors to the Pawn Shop burst open. With an aggressive jingle, Belle jumped at the sight of Henry who came through the front doors out of breath and upset.

"Henry? What-what's the matter? What's wrong?" she inquired, setting the books down upon the counter in front of her.

"Is Grandpa here?" he said anxiously as he stepped closer to greet her.

"He's out of the shop at the moment. He should be back any moment now. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I needed to… I-I wanted to…" he began hesitantly and awkwardly, but then suddenly changed his mind. "Never mind… I should have never come here. This was a mistake," Henry said second guessing himself as he turned around to exit the shop.

"What is it, Henry?" said Mr. Gold as he appeared from behind the beaded curtain coming forward into the room. At the sound of his grandfather's voice, Henry stopped suddenly by the door and turned around. "How can I help you?" asked Mr. Gold once he saw Henry's perturbed face.

"I want to learn magic," said Henry bluntly, getting straight to the point of his visit. Seeing that the conversation needed a little privacy, Belle picked up the books she had left on the counter and said quickly to her husband, "I'll… just put these away." Belle glanced over at Henry giving him a small encouraging smile before returning to the back room to put the books away.

Seeing that he was alone with his grandson he asked calmly and curiously, "And why do you want to learn magic?"

"My Moms… they're fighting again. Regina's locked me out of the house and Emma keeps pushing me away. Emma thinks that if I interfere, I'll just make matters worse and that I'll just get hurt getting caught in the crossfire."

"What will you do with this magic once you've learned it?"

"I'll… protect both of them from harming each other. I'll… protect myself and… force them in a room to work out their differences."

"Henry," began Rumple hesitantly, "you know there's always a price to having magic, even learning it."

"I know," acknowledged Henry quickly, "and I'm willing to pay or do whatever to learn."

"Even if that means changing who you are?"

Henry nodded slowly, confirming his intentions.

"No. Come now, you don't want that. You don't need magic. You're fine just the way you are."

"But I'm not fine. I need to be magical and I'm not!" argued Henry as he raised his voice towards his Grandfather. "I don't understand why I'm not. I need to learn how so that I can help my family. My Moms are using magic against each other and I'm powerless to stop it." Henry took a few deep breaths and said more dishearteningly, "I'm nothing. A helpless, useless child that still has to be babysat."

"Woah, woah, woah! Hey!" stopped Mr. Gold as he came closer to Henry. Gold's face wrinkled with concern as he slowly lifted a finger pointing directly and emphatically at the young man in front of him. "You are not nothing." Gold then slowly placed two comforting hands on Henry's shoulders and continued endearingly, "You are my grandson. You are the son of the Savior. Believe it or not, you are a very important person and nobody wants to see you hurt."

"How can I be important if I'm not even magical?"

"Magic… comes in all sorts of forms. It is both tangible and intangible. Like an iceberg, you see only the little bit that reveals itself above the surface, but it's not what you see, it's what you don't see. Magic comes from within… deep below the surface. From emotions. You are more powerful than you realize." Henry continued looking at Mr. Gold with a hardened face as he continued, "You bring everyone together. You've taken an old blood feud that had lasted for decades and brought the oldest of sworn enemies to work together. You did that. That's your magic Henry. Your gift is healing and connecting the bonds that have been detached for so long. My magic couldn't have done that."

"So that's it. Simply existing makes me magical," said sarcastically.

"No. Magic, albeit convenient, is nothing but an illusion. Our hearts want to believe it so much that we are willing to trick ourselves to make it so. But your magic, Henry, is very real and very powerful."

"How so?"

" _Love_ … Henry. Your mothers come together because they love you and love is the most powerful magic out there. As much as they may bicker, they always have your best interest at heart. They'll come around. You'll see. Trust me, I've seen enough of our family in action to know that our loved ones are the ones that motivate us to want to do the right thing and they will… eventually. This quarrel won't last forever. Emma doesn't want you interfering because if Regina or Emma ever saw you hurt, they wouldn't be able to live with themselves. That's how I know that everything will be alright. Everyone in town needs you, myself included. We all want to keep you safe because you are proof that the impossible can happen, like peace. You are proof that peace can happen and I believe that with you, it will. You don't need magic Henry. You're already magical."

"Well… then what do I do about my Moms?"

Mr. Gold placed a gentle hand on Henry's back and said as he ushered him out of the Pawn Shop, "You run on home now and try to talk to Regina again. You're her son and she loves you. She won't lock you out of the house forever. Keep trying to open up a dialogue and get them to see reason. Things will get better. I promise."

Henry nodded gratefully at Mr. Gold and left. He watched Henry cross the street through the windows and sighed. Just as Henry left, Belle came forward from the back of the shop and wrapped an arm around his watching through the windows just as he was. "I couldn't help but overhear, but that sounded like an awfully big promise. How can you possibly know for sure what the future holds?"

"You mean, apart from my ability to already see into the future," Gold said as he quickly glanced over at Belle, "I have hope."

"Hope?" she asked looking up at him.

"Henry gives me hope that the future is worth seeing."


End file.
